Nintendo 3DS Sports 3-D Graphics, 3-D Camera

Nintendo demonstrated its next-generation portable game console Tuesday. The Nintendo 3DS offers 3-D gaming without requiring special glasses. The device also includes a built-in 3-D camera.

The device features two screens: The top is a 3.5-inch 3-D display, and the bottom is a touch panel. A slider on top of the device allows players to adjust the depth of the 3-D effect.

Nintendo did not go into detail on how the screen shows 3-D without requiring glasses, but many have speculated that the technology consists of a parallax barrier LCD from Sharp for displaying stereoscopic images without glasses. A parallax screen’s material consists of a series of precision slits allowing each eye to see a different set of pixels, creating depth through parallax.

The 3DS also has two cameras on the back for customers to snap 3-D digital pictures, according to Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo. That will help even more people jump on the growing DIY 3-D bandwagon.

“It’s a mass-market device that lets you take and enjoy 3-D digital pictures,” Iwata said during a keynote speech at Nintendo’s E3 press conference.

Additionally, the device includes a motion sensor and gyro sensor, which should introduce new types of movement-based gaming to the popular handheld console.